Nazi fetishists will love this epic World War II action thriller from director Paul Verhoeven. Twenty years in the making, it's an absurd account of a young Jewish singer's experiences in the Dutch Resistance. Imagine Where Eagles Dare morphed with soap-opera versions of Verhoeven's own Starship Troopers and Basic Instinct and you'll get some idea of the guilty pleasure that awaits you.
Carice van Houten bares all as a Semitic revue star who assumes a fake Aryan identity after surviving a German ambush that leaves her family dead. Soon, she's shagging dashing senior SS officer Sebastian Koch, losing her heart along with her knickers while working undercover to subvert Nazi rule.
The overdramatic sex is as enjoyable as the countless plot holes, giving extra colour to a film that runs the gamut of emotions, from humour to poignancy via seat-edge tension. Verhoeven lacks subtlety and his narrative is frequently contrived, but he certainly knows how to entertain, skilfully keeping this 145-minute film rattling along. However, its greatest strength is its brutal authenticity, which violently demonstrates there's no black and white when it comes to extreme human behaviour.
*Out January 19
MORE ENTERTAINMENT
